Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian drops four-word reaction as Gabby Thomas compares 200m sprint to a brain surgery

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian reacted to Gabby Thomas comparing the 200m race with brain surgery, considering the complexity of both. Thomas concluded her 2024 season with Ohanian-hosted Athlos NYC, where she posted the second-fastest time to finish behind Brittany Brown.

Thomas had a successful stint at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning three golds in the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m relay events, extending her Olympic medal tally to five. Shortly after, she competed at the Athlos NYC, a women-only track event launched by Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian. Thomas, who partnered with Athlos to advance the women's track with a reinvented format, headlined the 200m roster in the event on September 26, 2024.

She clocked 22.21s to clinch silver while fellow American Brittany Browns took home the title and the Tiffany crown. As per Athlos' X post on October 29, 2024, Athlos asked Thomas to describe the 200m as a race. The neurobiology and global health graduate compared her event with brain surgery since a slight mistake in either could prove harmful.

"I would compare running the 200m like brain surgery. It is a very precise race. If you mess up even just a little bit, it can be detrimental to the entire race. It's very challenging but very, very, rewarding."

The founder of Athlos, Alexis Ohanian, wasn't surprised by Gabby Thomas' answer. He responded:

"Of course she would!"

After ending her 2024 track season, the 27-year-old Harvard University alum graced the New York Fashion Week, attended the US Open finals, presented at the Vogue Fashion Fund Awards, featured in brand advertisements, and took a trip to Malaysia.

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Gabby Thomas lauded Alexis Ohanian for taking an interest in track and doubling the prize money

Gabby Thomas reacts after winning the 4x100m relay at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: (Source: Getty)

Ahead of the highly anticipated Athlos NYC, the triple Olympic gold medalist appreciated Serena Williams' husband for revolutionizing the women's track with a larger prize purse and learning track lingos despite not knowing anything about the sport.

"What’s really cool about him is he just sits down and listens, right? He didn’t know anything about track, and now he’s using track lingo when he’s talking about, you know, our sport in the races, which I really appreciate," she said to CITIUS Mag. [6:15]

She further noted:

"You see it. I mean, he really doubled the prize money of the Diamond League, and that’s fantastic because he saw what we deserve, and he doesn’t want to stop there."

Gabby Thomas was also nominated for the 2024 Female Athlete of the Year award, alongside fellow Olympic gold medalists, Julien Alfred and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.